Variety (May 1942)

Wednesday. M«y 6, 1942 WAR ACTIVITIES 25 lA Is W for One Studio HoUywoDd; Mar >• Reclasslfle^tlob of mimeroua SA draft registrants Into lA Is a relief - to the homft olHce execs of • major Hollywood studio. For several weeks th* eastern chiefs have bemx muUinf' tiie Idea of priming un- • 'productive personnel on the studio payroll. Now Uncle Sam Is step> ~plng In to relieve them, of a painful duty. Meanwhile, "the order to review tiie SA draft, candidates Is causing studio execs -serious concern aboat production sdtedules, not only In .'tho acttag departments but among' essential workers' on- the technical staffs. One review disclosed that a bigh-salarled screen wrltor in 3A ^'b^d enough wealth stowed away to keep his dependents in comfort '."for a nimiber of year?. He- was switched'to lA. • iXHiBITORS NO LONSERSUIFF U. S. SHORTS Increasing consciousness of exhib- itors as to the importance of play- ing the Government's Victory Film shorts every poloimad'ce has ap- parently brought about an improve- ment during the past few weeks in the situation concerning these plx. There bad been complaints that ex- bibs were sloudiinf them off, either not playing them at all or only at tha beginning and end. of the day. Reports from 'Variety' correspondr ents in various sections of the country reveal two dominant rea-- sons for greater attention being ^ven the films. One Is. that au- diences apparently like .them, giving them strong applause. Another 'Is the campaign, instituted by the War Activities Committee, wUdi ar- ' rang^ distribution of the pictures,' to impress on exbibs the importance of playing them. In line with this is the chedcup system via film sales- men that the 'WAC has inaugurated. ■ BUnneaoU'Now AU-Oat Minneapolis, May 5..- In this erstwhile isolationist ter- ritory, 'Victory . Films actually, are provoking ^audience applause in most situations,' according, to reports rci- ceived from exhibitors at- local ex- changes. . Trade h$re Is delighted by tbe reception, indlcatbig a resur- gence of patriotism and plenty' of backing for the war. It had been feared that audience reaction to the pictures might not be favorable because of tbe propa- ganda angle,'but the films are said to have been made so entertaining as -vfell as instructive and purpose- ful, that the trade feels they have been an asset to programs. Degree . to which the public has been aroused over the war also is a factor, it's pointed out. . Exhibitors apparently feel that they're not only doing a duty in showing the^ pictures, but they're also receiving added entertainment for thelc shows and 'for free.' Out of 825 .theatres in this territory, 770 have signed up to exlilbit the films. NebraakA Meetings Omaha, May 5. Lack of complete understanding of the seriousness of the general sit- uation, plus a loose organi2ation in the matter of 'showing war films prepared by federal agencies, will . be cleared up, dlstrlbs and exhlbs said after a weekend meeting here. Film men in the territory, embrac- ing around 400, pr<mdsed to improve the situation at once. Meeting In Qmaha was the fourth such held in the state and was followed by one In Lincoln.' Joe ' Kinsky, Nebraska . district manager for Tristates Theater Corp. (Blank-Paramount) told exhibitors that Omaha theatres must line up ..JuUdly.. behind the program Pre- 'Vious meetings were ' at Norfolk, Grand Island and Sioux City. Total of 14,147 theatres have now signed pledges to show Victory FUffls. Recent releases are 'Any Bonds To-day,' Xake Carrier,' and.a film for United China Relief. SleaW Joe McGee Joe McGee's life, in civil or mili- tary endeayor, certainly seems to be m a .groove. As executive secre- tary to William Morris, Jr., and Abe Lastfogel of the agency, his Job was to keep track of acts and itinerant yso units (being last with Last- fogel at the latter organization). Now, McGee, In the Office of the .Chief of Naval Operations, must keep track of ships scattered all over the seven seas. Fowkr, Lit?ak, Engel, Wyl(^ With Maj. Capra Gene Fowler is due in .Washington shortly to Join Major Ftank Capra's film-making unit in the Special'Serv- iv« Branch of tha War Department. Anatole Litvak Joined Capra last week. Sam Engel is also permanently in the unit, while William Wyler is doing temporary service., Capra Is making filins exclusively to be shown troops to instruct them in why and who they are fighting. Fowler will get. together with Capra- in Hollywood, a month hence> and is. not going to D. C. Just now. Fowler returns ..to the Cgast this weekend. " ' • Flock of Showfolk hWadngtni 'By Abel Green Solly Halpem, ex-Fox studio, a naval lieutenant here. Jake Milsteln. ex-Eddie Small exec. Into Signal Corps. ' HoUywoodlan Lieut-Commander Herman Spltzel is quite ■ greeter here for the showfolk. Hotel room abortage so acute they're gagging about trading a room for a commission. Former, radio man Bob Goldstein (WMCA) now building homes in badly under-housed, communis. Cars paAed for miles in the open, day and night; no garage space— about as tough as getting a hotel room. G^ titles for jovemm^t agen- cies: Office of MuU.tc Fending; Fuss & Feathers; Bureau of Waits tt- De- lays, etc. We used to say, "get a commission': here, everybody says, 'I 'was offered a majority but ' Thafs D. C.Jive for'major's commission. Matty Fox, Coordinator of Junk (as the kiddies delight to call it), working harder in the 'WPB than he did as a v.p, of Universal. Local exltlbs spotlighted films this week starring celebrities in the HoICnvood Victory Caravan, thus riding tlie crest of the ballyhoo. Capt Jock tawrence, now in press relations here, excited alMut the big public relations job going on about everything pertaining tO the service. Out-of-towners bsrpoing. the Na- tional Press Club into big b.o. Ditto the local Variety Club, two of tbe nicest retreats for the show and press bunch. ' Greg Bauizer, attorney and man- about-Hollywood, now a' Lieut, in Aeronautical, wantq to get into the Ughter-than-air (balloon) division for combat duty. Hany-Brand, the Fox studio pub- licist, who ran Into phone extensions which ntmii>er into the thousands, 'wants the job of Coordinator of Low Extension Numb^s. Everybody oeefing 'about those flee bags' or .'those creeps with , an overhanging toweV for which they charge fantastic rates, jThere should be a coordinator of gyitplcg hotels. Carter Barron, Loew's Cppltol boss, had to shadow box with pro- tocol and Hollywood-Broadway high- pressure to appease and please everybody in for the Hollywood show. An ordinary able-bodied seaman showed up at the midnight-until-8 a.m. dress rehearsal of the Caravan and the show bunch, knee-deep, in officers and gold braid, wanted to know 'how that -towaway got in.' Exasperatlngly low I.Q. of new clerical staff created the wheeze, 'If they show a girl « washing machine, a sewing mactiine and a typewriter, and she knows which is the Reming- ton she's immediately commissioned a stenographer.' CoL Edwin Halsey, secretary of the Senate, is a great theatre fan, with emphasis on Olsen and Johnson and George Jessel, who 'did a Treasury Dept. stint while hfere. CoL Halsey confesses he's himself a somewhat reformed prestidigitator. W. Mason Wright, chief of the pic- ture division of the War Depart- ment's Bureau of Public Relations, who a few short months ago was a major, got his eagle as a full colonel last week, with much congratulation from the film crowd. By BADIB HABBIB (Chairman, Entertainment CemHee) Raymond Massey, arriving at the Canteen after a matinee perform- ance of 'Candida,' was immediately recognized and surrounded for au- tographs, - As he I>ent over to sign one, Ii* asked th« name of the l>oy. 'Amtfican Eagle,' -was the reply. 'I don't mean your rank, son; I mean your name.' That is my name, air.' Whereupon Mr. Massey looked 19 to face a full-blooded Indian in the uniform of the U. S. A. 'Wfaen Loretta Young, looking like a 'dream walking,' visited the Can- teen the other night and. signed au- tographs on. every thing from sailor caps to automaton pictures, a smit- ten sergeant was heard to exclaim, 'All my. life I have wanted to meet Loretta'Young—4nd it took a sec- ond World War to make It possiblel' A visit to the Canteen has be- come a tr^ on « magic carpet to some, of the boys, wfao find'them- selves suddenly transported to other exciting spots. For example, every night, Hilde- garde, our upstairs nei^I>or at the 44th St theatre,- sends her emissary, Anna Sosenko, down at intermission time to whisk a-way the two faand- somest privates in the place to help Illustrate her number "There's Some- thing About • Soldier That Is Fin^ Fine Fine.' I,&nny Ross wound up bis per- sonal appearance, by taking six taxi- cabsful of boys to broadcast 'with bim. over NBC, and Bany- Wpod, at the conclusion of his 'Hit Parade' routine, gathered quite a regiment to.-accompany him-back for bis-re- peat^, performance via CBS. And Michael Merry, an English sailor, found himself riding dp-wn Broadway in a Jeep' car withr'no less a fellow coimtryman than Miss Ger- trude Lawrence. Lieut and Mrs. William H. Van- dttbilt and 'iSx. and Mrs. Lawrence Lowman, guests* of William Feinberg Of Local 802, came over to the Can- teen the other night, jtist as the ■Versailles' show was going on. Mrs. Vanderbilt was so intrigued that she couldn't be pried away, thereby causing I,arry Lowman to. quip, 'It's the first time a Vanderbilt ever saw a show on the cuff.' Ellzabetb Arden sent over four chickens the other night No, not to dance witii—but to put Iietween sandwiches. When the first Belgian soldier ar- rived last night, Abner Klipstein, the press agent on duty, hurriedly sent for a lAiotographer to snap his Canteen debut A Captain of the Senior HOst, rushed over and began jabbering, away at him in French. Klipstein resented the intrusion; told the host not to Infringe on his department whereupon latter did a bumup, exclaiming "You ought to l>e glad you have someone here wfao can speak French and explain to bim what you want done.' Can you speak French?,' he squelched Blip- stein. Acknowledging'his deficiency in foreign languages ('except Brook- lyn'), Klipstein expressed his apolo- gies and offered bis thanks for the cooperation, The following night the Belgian re-appeared and spotting Klipstein came over to him, 'Pardon me, but can you tell me where that picture that was' taken last night will appear?' Klipstein looked at hhn, almost swallowing his dgaret 'How did you learn to speak English over- night' he asked in amazement? 'Oh, I have spoken it for quite a long time.. I don't know why' that other man last night was talking to me in French—I don't understand a word of it!' Si Gross swears he overheard the following conversation: A soldier dancing with one of the hostesses said, 'I know uniforms greatly enhance our looks, but there must be occasions when even a .uni- form doesn't help much. How do you girls manage to' duck a guy when you don't wan' to dance with him?' The hostess stopped on the floor. ■You see that terrace, she pointed out'—but she got no further because she was Interrupted by another hostess, •'Don't you know,' she warned her 'you are not'allowed to reveal our civilian secrets.' Fast and Free Is^ce of. Hfilitary GmiiiiissioiisaCiirrentTargetinD.C. Groucho's Greeting Washington, May .5. Hollywood Victory Caravan members, arriving at the 'White- House last,week for the reception given ttuon by Mis. Booseveltr ' were surprised to find fellow- Caravanite Groucho Marx^on the front pia2za welcoming them, T always wanted to greet peo> pie on the White House steps,' b* explained. Loisc Bailer's $4,eO(MMN) In U S, Bonds in Toledo Treasury Department announced in New York Monday (4) that Luise Rainer, through a series of personal appearances in Toledo Saturday (2), was responsible for the sale of over $4,000,000 in war bonds. This is the largest individual sale of any stage- or screen star to date, according to Carlton Duffus,. of the Treasury's, war savings special events staff. Miss Rainer made appearances at several plants, making ''short talks, and also spoke at a special mass meeting at the Civic Auditorluin in the evening, Goal set for the day -was only $2,000,000. Martha Raye-, currently at the Paramount in .Toledo, also aided In the tremendous sale; She enter- tained at the Auditorium conclave. Bob Hall, radio entertainer, m.c.'d tiie rally. KyMi'B ^'BeM Wagei^ 'CUek Chicago, May 5. Kay Kyser"* 'Bond Wagon' stunt here resulted in the sale of $8,000,- 000' worth of bonds in four days, 'B<md Wagon,' with the K^ser boys alMHurd, was stationed at State and Randolph streets for tiie stint Treasury so Impressed with the show M isdoing to sad the wagod touring the country. Done^ Kanm iNsaiss Mmk; War at Harvard . Cambridge; Mass., May B. Morale pictures ara vital, Melvyn Douglias, motion picture actor* serv- ing with Office of Civilian DiefiniM; told a roimd-table disciission at Harvard,' "There are those who are sitting in the plolster of Kollywood ,and Harvard, JorgetUnig that there'are many people In every, state who are ignorant of the Issues of the war,' Douglas said. Several times 'in bis remarks be stressied the necessity 'of bringing every American to -the realization, that this is a total war. He em^ phaslzed the importance of civilian morale and declared tliat the crea- tion or morale films ean play a tremendous part in winning the 'War. About 200 persons, including stu- dents, women and faculty members, attended the discussion sponsored by the 'Harvard Film Society, Garson Kanin, Hollywood - director, and' Richard Ford, director of the Brit* ish Library of Information, were other • speakers , cnthe topic, 'How Fihns Con Help Win tbe Wa^.' Ford said It took the British two and one-halt years to reach tbe point "where they now can turn out about 200 shorts a year. Regarding this production; Douglas said, "Un- less we awaken here in America we will be slower than Englaild was in producing war morale films.' He ex- pressed the- belief that the producers- must concentrate on putting over the morale effect and that this can't be done by the use of 'gags,' 'There is no apathy on the part of the movie people toward doing what they are asked to do, but they have found no official agency for' the di- rection of movie policy,' Kanin said. He stated that the coming produc- tion of films would be of two kinds, 'escape and'inspirational.' He said he would like a combination of both. Ford said there is danger in mak- ing the Japs and the Germans in the films either stUpId or invincible. Re- cent films had over-emphasized the brutality of the Japs in his opinion, be said. Washlngtoi), May S. Professional baseball and football stars, boxers, Hollywoof: celebrities, stage entertalnerar, educators and business executives who are hoping for service shi^ulder ornaments and the> prestige of. cbministions In the armed services, find their chances tiireatened tiy the present agitation in Congress to end the civilian in- flux into the Army and Navy. ~ Congressman Faddis of Pennsyl- vania succeeded in attaching'a rider to the 'Army pay raise- bill which' woidd bar these commissions. House leaders are opposed to the Faddls' amendment beians<^ they fear it might Jeopardize, or complicate, the pay raise proposal, for wiiicb every Congressman up for reelection ex- p^Kts to vote; But the furore to stop civilian entry into officer posts, the easy way continues, and Senator- Truman of Missouri is expected to push the plan through the upper branch. Regiriar Army and Navy officers who are making the service, a career are secretly backing the Faddls -pro- posal. They resent gold , and sHVer lea£i, colonels' eagles and other In- signia of high . command ' being a'warded to those without military training and, in many eases,- with . physical deftets . waived. CUimmis- sloning of athletes to line J(As In tbe Navy- blue has also brought about a strong opposition in collegiate circles- from, students who are officer po- tentials, but without Influence, Li^tenant-Commander Gene Tun- .ney's drive to recruit 'name' athlete^ has.especially aroused the brasshats of .tiie -Army and many of the Na-vy'a- career mui. . Miidi of ^e smoldering' opposition, on Capitol HIQ baa. flamed into acr tidn because of recent wpolntments. It. derives as a rule from Congressmen- rWho are witbout any official influ- ence in Ugh'Army and Navy c&rdes,. but it Is vigoroiidy snppoiM by regular Army and Na'vy ofltcets.^ho. are deeply, resentful when civilians outranking them are jnflltraied /into -the service, irtthout ardndtis basic training and experience aewt'ed in the schools for the soldier and saflor, .rOmets An^fes.' Tha tempest in the service teapot over. cttmmliBdoni finds many .In Hollywood on the anxious wut since tbeir casea are now In the course of being "processed/ They are beln? brought into th* service because-of qieelallst qnaUflcatlonk . lb* answer to the problfem may be Ihe quick recognition of tlie . Specialists Corps, advocated and created by President Roosevelt, who nominated Dwight Davis; former Secretary Of- War, to bead the bu- reau. Tbe At)propriations Commit- tee blue pencilled a $2,000,000 budget' to start this service but the organ- izational setup is continuing In . the War department This Specialist . Corps would enlist men beyond the draft age who are especially quail- fled in Uielr chosen field, > The salar- ie* would range from $2,900 to $8,000 and they would wear uniforms, but would not have military rating. Men physically unfitted fof the Army aa officers could qualify under tha.flev* ible physical standards. The Dwight Davis Bureau was swamped wltli 40,000 applications for these Jobs and has not yet been Ale to keep cur- rent with its mail. Pressbvser Series On Aniffkan War Heroes Hollywood, May 5. Cavalcade of American war heroes, -will be filmed in 'M^ial ocf HOnbf I)y< Arnold Pressburger, bead Of Ar-. nold Productions, starting next fall Picture will include exploits of all the winners of the Congressional Medal from Its beginning up to t^e presebt war. - . Story rights have been turned over to Pressburger by John Miles, who registered the yam with tbe Haya Office in 103S. At that time RKO turned down the story as./too war- - like for those then peaceful days. Discovered! Hollywood, May 5. The Monogram franchise-holder from Des Moines was looking in . on tbo screen testing of Margie Hart, who is billed as the 'First Lady of Burlesque' and 'Poor Man's Garbo.' After the unpeeling scene, the M £ h. blurted, 'Say, that girl's got sex.' •